Action Alert! Support bill to exempt ordinary books from CPSIA

A bill (HR 272) has been reintroduced in the House to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) to exclude ordinary books from required lead testing standards. Lead tests on books have found lead levels far below the future requirements. Last year the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report stating that although Congress did not intend to include ordinary books, the CPSC could not grant an exclusion for these items. The CPSC issued a one-year stay for implementation, which is set to expire on February 10th.

HR 272 has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The complete list of committee members for the 112th Congress has not yet been posted, but Sarbanes did serve on this committee in the 111th Congress.

Please contact your representative in the House and ask them to support and/or co-sponsor HR 272. A Capwiz Action Alert has been set up at and provides additional background information and talking points.